Robeet willis



, Patented June 20, l899 R. WILLIS.

PIPE WRENCH.

' No. 627,37l.

(Application filed Apr. 12, 1899.)

(No model.)

A TTOHNE Y 8 lllllll/ IIIIIIII/ W/ TNESES 7 tion.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT WILLIS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PIPE-WRENCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters 'Patent No. 627,371, dated June 20, 1899. Application filed April 12, 1899. Serial No. 712,752. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, ROBERT WILLIS, of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Pipe-Wrench, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in pipe-wrenches designed more particularly for turning plated or highly-polished pipes; and the object is to provide a simple wrench of this character by means of which a very tight grip may be made on a pipe without danger of scratching or otherwise marking it.

I will describe a pipe-wrench embodying my invention and then point out the novel features in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side View of a wrench embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a top view thereof. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a modifica- Fig. 5 is a plan view thereof, and Fig. 6 is a perspective View showing a portion of a wedge employed in the first example of my invention.

Referring,first, to the example of my improvement shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3,1 idesignate the side bars of the head portion of the wrench. These side bars are connected at" their front end by a grip-bar 3,which, as here shown, has its lower edge slightly rounded, so as to secure agood pressure on the grip-' ping material without danger of cutting said material.

The side bars 1 and 2 are connected at the rear portion by a cross-bar 4, from which an operating-handle 5 extends. In its upper side this cross-bar 4 has a pocket 6' to receive the folded end of the gripping-strip 7, which consists of a flexible 1naterialsuch, for instance, as webbing or canvas. This strip 7 is doubled or folded together, and passed through the fold is a key-rod 8.

Removably engaged with the side bars is a Wedge-bar 9. This wedge-bar 9 is seated in outwardly-opening channels 10, formed in the side bars.

The strip 7 is designed to pass be tween this wedge-bar and the forward face of the cross-bar 4, and of course the space between the two bars will be less than the diameter of the folded end of the strip 7 when the key-rod 8 is passed therein, as plainly indicated in Fig. 3. In using this device the strip 7 is passed around the pipe (indicated at as) and is then passed underneath the grip-bar 3 and around the inner face thereof, as shown in the drawings. When the strip 7 is thus connected with the pipe and with the gripbar, the free end will be clamped closely between the bar 3 and the body portion of the strip 7 immediately below it, and then by an upward movement of the handle the pipe may be turned without slipping of the strip 7. In the example of my improvement shown in Figs. 4 and 5 the side bars 20 and 21 are inclined downward relatively to the rear crossbar 22 and the forward ends are connected by a grip-bar 3 similar to the first-described grip-bar.

Extended rearward from the cross-bar 22 is a sleeve 23, having a tapered opening through it to receive the tapered end-of a wooden handle or lever 24:. In this example of my improvement the gripping material 7 is secured to the head by placing a portion of it within the sleeve 23 and then passing the handle or lever 24: through said sleeve from the front.

'The object in inclining the side bars 20 and 21 is to permit of the easy entrance of said handle or lever, and this handle or lever forms a securing-wedge for the material 7 similar to the wedge 9. The operation of this device is similar to that first described. Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A pipe-wrench, comprising a headhavingside bars, a grip-bar connecting the front formed in the side bars, and a gripping-strip of flexible material secured bysaid wed ge-bar, substantially as specified.

3. A pipe-wrench, comprising a head having side bars, a grip-bar connecting the forward ends of the side bars, a cross-bar connecting the rear ends of the side bars, the said cross-bar having a pocket in its upper side, a wedge for removably engaging with the side bars forward of said cross-bar, a folded flexible strip passed between said wedgebar and the cross-bar, a key-rod passing through the folds of said strip, forming a head on the strip adapted to be seated in the pocket formed in the cross-bar and having a diameter greater than the space between the wedge of the cross-bar, and a handle extended from the cross-bar, substantially as specified.

4. A pipe-wrench, comprising side bars, a grip-bar connecting the forward ends of said side bars and having a rounded lower edge, a cross-bar connecting the rear ends of the side bars, a wedge-bar removably engaging with the side bars forward of said cross-bar, and a gripping-strip of flexible material secured to the head by said wedge-barand crossbar, substantially as specified.

ROBERT WILLIS. \V'itnesses:

EVERARD BOLTON MARSHALL, C. R. FERGUSON. 

